Ex-players should know better than to sit there and criticise. I will never do it

Frank Lampard says he and his teammates are fed up with constant sniping by the pundits

With Frank Lampard uncharacteristically misfiring in front of goal in Germany, it was natural for a conversation with the Chelsea midfielder to be dominated by the subject of shooting. Indeed, in Baden-Baden yesterday, Lampard spoke about both kinds. We’ll get on to the problems he has had with scoring and his deep irritation at wasting chances against Trinidad & Tobago and Paraguay. First, marksmanship of a different variety. “You certainly won’t see me sitting in 20 or 30 years’ time, slagging off an England team performance,” said Lampard. “Shoot me if you do.”

His remark echoed Sir Steven Redgrave’s famous comment after winning his fourth Olympic gold in Atlanta: “If anyone sees me anywhere near a boat, they have permission to shoot me.” Redgrave, of course, was back on the water in Sydney four years later. No one produced a gun. Lampard would be similarly forgiven if, later in life,